Extrusion modeling of tire components

Extrusion of tire components has become a very demanding process. Predictio n of processability is therefore difficult. Flow modeling can bring knowled ge in areas where direct observation is not always possible. Tracking of fl ow characteristics, detection and correction of flow anomalies, prediction of extrudate shape, sensitivity analysis, constitute some of the multiple f acets of flow simulation. Pre-screening of new flow designs is today possib le with virtual computer trials. The core of this article is devoted to an actual extrusion case - flow in an extruder head assembly - to illustrate t he potential of modeling work and review typical output of the simulation.